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Badminton Sport
Carlton
Badminton brand Carlton have big plans for
2009, as head of product Matthew Shuker
explains to SGB
A
nother brand that's been 'on its uppers', Carlton is having SGB: You say rackets, are you talking about only badminton rackets or is
new life breathed into it. Formerly the world's number one that somewhere you might branch out from?
brand in the field of badminton rackets and shuttlecocks, MS: Yes, Carlton is a specialist badminton brand, it only manufactures
Carlton is now making strides into the market as part of the badminton equipment which is one of its positives, it’s completely focused
Dunlop Slazenger group. SGB finds out how, thanks to Matthew on badminton. Generally, racket brands now cross all racket sports; tennis,
Shuker. squash and badminton which can be detrimental in product development.
SGB: What does the Carlton brand involve, what’s the core of the brand? SGB: Is it a help in terms of research and development to be aligned with
Matthew Shuker: Historically the main focus of the brand has been Dunlop Slazenger?
premium rackets and shuttlecocks. Going back 30-odd years, Carlton was MS: It certainly has its positives. If it was a standalone company in its own
the world's number one brand up until the 1980s when Yonex moved right then clearly the resources Carlton would be able to access would be
aggressively into the market, and back in those days rackets and shuttles limited in comparison to the resources Dunlop Slazenger can provide; it’s a
was really what badminton brands were all about; footwear was starting much bigger brand in terms of its turnover and consequently can focus
to come into it but generally speaking, it was all about rackets and more resources into R&D. Both brands have their separate technologies to
shuttles. We were the first brand to design and manufacture a metal ensure each brand maintains its identity however technology concepts are
badminton racket with grommets, and that was back in 1967, which I developed jointly to maximise knowledge and expertise.
think was far earlier than the first grommetted tennis racket; likewise we
were the first brand to make synthetic shuttlecocks, which solved the SGB: Badminton has an enormous user base, something like two to three
problem of feather durability which had been an issue up until that point. million active players in the UK – that's a great base to work from for you.
Over the last two or three years our product offering has broadened and MS: As an Olympic sport, it benefits from the exposure it receives; I
using the brand’s premium positioning as number two in the market, believe that at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the badminton mixed
we're entering into other sub-categories, for example clothing. 2008 saw doubles final between Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms and the Chinese
Carlton launch a new clothing range engineered with Aerocool pair, was one of the largest TV audiences pulled in by any event at the
technology and also a move into the string and grip market. Olympics. Within the UK there’s 1.5 million people playing, it's one of the
highest participation sports. The sport is growing globally with a focus in
8 SGB SPORT JANUARY 2009
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